Arts Blog

KDHX May Eliminate Evening Talk Shows

Talk show hosts at KDHX (88.1 FM) are meeting tonight at a south St. Louis home to discuss upcoming programming changes at the community radio station (and perennial RFTBest of St. Louis winner).

The impromptu gathering comes three days before the hosts are supposed to meet with KDHX management to discuss changes at the station.

According to one of the talk-show hosts, it's believed that the station is wanting to do away with its non-music shows that run Monday through Thursday evenings. In their place, the station would run two to three-minute interviews and news clips throughout the day.

At tonight's meeting, the talk-show hosts plan to come up with a response to the station. "It's not like were going to take up our pitchforks and storm the castle," offers D.J. Wilson, host of the Monday evening news program Collateral Damage. (Wilson is also a former Riverfront Times writer.) "It's just a meeting to see where we stand."

Wilson says he and other talk-show hosts got an e-mail last Monday asking them to attend a meeting scheduled for last Wednesday to discuss format changes.

That Wednesday meeting was later pushed back to this coming Thursday.

In addition to Wilson's show, those that might be on the chopping block include current-affairs talker Topic A, the performing-arts show Break a Leg, media-criticism program Reality Now and the environmental show Earthworms. The latter has been on the air for nearly 20 years.

In total, the evening talk shows add up to just four hours of air time -- a factoid that has Wilson scratching his head. "It's not like we eat into a lot of programming," he says. "Then again, we're kind of the red-headed, left-handed stepchildren at the station."

As is the case with most all programmers at the station, Wilson does his show without financial compensation.

"Part of me wants to argue the changes, and part of me is like fine. Whatever. I didn't need the money," jokes Wilson.

KDHX co-executive director, Beverly Hacker, did not immediately return a phone call for comment this afternoon, and attempts to reach other talk-show hosts today were unsuccessful.